28 years ago

[Chico Hamilton III]

A couple of memories from this game - Blues fans piling onto the pitch from the Witton Lane and me realising what an absolute twat Vince Overson was (is?)


Football: Villa kindergarten antics leave Taylor despondent (673)
By CLIVE WHITE
24 August 1987
The Times
Aston Villa ......0 Birmingham City ..2


Graham Taylor looked like a man who had just discovered he was climbing Mount Everest instead of Ben Nevis. The full implication of the task confronting him came awesomely into view on Saturday when he saw his new Aston Villa team willingly hurl themselves off the mountain like lemmings.
It was one of the most blatant pieces of self-destruction that I have seen on a sporting field. But there was nothing courageous about it. On the contrary it was, as Taylor said, 'schoolgirl stuff.' Having lost their way and their grip they proceeded to lose their heads during a period of total abdication of responsibility. Birmingham City, holding a two-goal lead, could afford their part in the lunacy as the names of five players went into the referee's black book during the final 25 minutes and the free kick count scored to 52.
That three Birmingham players, Dicks, Whitton and Overson, should be booked as against two from Villa, Coopr and Walters, and that the free kicks should be similarly in their 'favour', 29 as against 23, does not absolve Villa from their part in this distasteful match.
Many people considered that Taylor was crazy when last May he chose to leave the security of Watford for the instability of Villa. Now Taylor must be wondering if they were right. He will have known that the job involved turning boys into men, but he could never have dreamt that he would have to change their nappies too.
From the beginning there was no doubting that this was Villa Park Kindergarten as Aspinall, annoyed at his inability to grow up quickly enough to outjump an opponent, decided the mature answer was to kick the other player. I cannot believe he was taught such manners at Everton. 'Too many players here play five- a-sides, eat fish and chips and think they can play like Liverpool,' Taylor said.
While Taylor may be able to knock some sense into the young heads he may find the older ones less receptive It was disappointing to see someone as experienced and as gifted as Cooper make an impression on opponents with his elbows rather than his football. An undignified performance ended fittingly with a booking for an attempted pinfall on Godden, the Birmingham goalkeeper.
The respectable behaviour of Vicarage Road must have seemed a long way away to Sims, whom Taylor brought with him form Watford. 'I'm used to getting on with the game, not becoming involved in that nonsense. If some of them don't improve their discipline they'll be out,' Sims said.
Maturity, though, may not be enough. Taylor says: 'We've got players here who haven't the responsibility to get a game back together - and I doubt if they have the ability. Too many of our players want to talk, to argue at a petty level. If we had as many people around the areas where loose balls were dropping as we had when there was a scuffle we'd have done better. This was our first real test and it was marked nil.'
Submerged within the running feud was a contest that lasted 15 minutes in Taylor's view. During that time Birmingham, who had not impressed much either, played what football there was. They took the lead in the fiftieth minute when Williams, taking advantage of a static Villa defence, played the ball back in following a clearance and Rees volleyed in a rewarding goal against his former club. Seven minutes later the contest was over, Handysides steering a shot around a defender and past the possible unsighted Spink.

ASTON VILLA: N Spink; K Gage, B Gallacher, N Cooper, S Sims, M Keown, P Birch, W Aspinall, S Stainrod (sub: A Daley), D Hunt (sub: S Hunt,) M Walters.
BIRMINGHAM CITY: A Godden; B Rob- erts, J Dicks, T Williams, V Overson, I Handysides, D Bremner, A kennedy, S Whitton, A Rees, S Wigley.

[Pat McMahon]

I was flying back from Greece that Sunday night and our flight was delayed by about 12 hours. After a few hours at the airport they ferried us off to a hotel where we could lie down on the concrete by the pool and at dawn we were rounded up to go back to the airport.

Whilst lying on the floor there, knackered after 24 hours without sleep, my mate turned up to say he had managed to see a copy of the Sunday paper and we had lost 2-0 to that lot. An awful way to end a holiday.

[Richard E]

This was the game that generated that ludicrously over the top Meaning Evil match report. Plus ca change, plus ca meme chose....

[somec]

The balance of power is shifting, they said.

In five years time.......... you know the rest 

[Chico Hamilton III]

Reading Taylor's scathing comments about the team, I wonder what Lambert would have said about it if he'd been manager? " I thought we were excellent in the second half"

Also got me thinking what Taylor would have said after some of the humiliations that Lambert led us to?

[Damo70]

A couple of memories from this game - Blues fans piling onto the pitch from the Witton Lane and me realising what an absolute twat Vince Overson was (is?)


Football: Villa kindergarten antics leave Taylor despondent (673)
By CLIVE WHITE
24 August 1987
The Times
Aston Villa ......0 Birmingham City ..2


Graham Taylor looked like a man who had just discovered he was climbing Mount Everest instead of Ben Nevis. The full implication of the task confronting him came awesomely into view on Saturday when he saw his new Aston Villa team willingly hurl themselves off the mountain like lemmings.
It was one of the most blatant pieces of self-destruction that I have seen on a sporting field. But there was nothing courageous about it. On the contrary it was, as Taylor said, 'schoolgirl stuff.' Having lost their way and their grip they proceeded to lose their heads during a period of total abdication of responsibility. Birmingham City, holding a two-goal lead, could afford their part in the lunacy as the names of five players went into the referee's black book during the final 25 minutes and the free kick count scored to 52.
That three Birmingham players, Dicks, Whitton and Overson, should be booked as against two from Villa, Coopr and Walters, and that the free kicks should be similarly in their 'favour', 29 as against 23, does not absolve Villa from their part in this distasteful match.
Many people considered that Taylor was crazy when last May he chose to leave the security of Watford for the instability of Villa. Now Taylor must be wondering if they were right. He will have known that the job involved turning boys into men, but he could never have dreamt that he would have to change their nappies too.
From the beginning there was no doubting that this was Villa Park Kindergarten as Aspinall, annoyed at his inability to grow up quickly enough to outjump an opponent, decided the mature answer was to kick the other player. I cannot believe he was taught such manners at Everton. 'Too many players here play five- a-sides, eat fish and chips and think they can play like Liverpool,' Taylor said.
While Taylor may be able to knock some sense into the young heads he may find the older ones less receptive It was disappointing to see someone as experienced and as gifted as Cooper make an impression on opponents with his elbows rather than his football. An undignified performance ended fittingly with a booking for an attempted pinfall on Godden, the Birmingham goalkeeper.
The respectable behaviour of Vicarage Road must have seemed a long way away to Sims, whom Taylor brought with him form Watford. 'I'm used to getting on with the game, not becoming involved in that nonsense. If some of them don't improve their discipline they'll be out,' Sims said.
Maturity, though, may not be enough. Taylor says: 'We've got players here who haven't the responsibility to get a game back together - and I doubt if they have the ability. Too many of our players want to talk, to argue at a petty level. If we had as many people around the areas where loose balls were dropping as we had when there was a scuffle we'd have done better. This was our first real test and it was marked nil.'
Submerged within the running feud was a contest that lasted 15 minutes in Taylor's view. During that time Birmingham, who had not impressed much either, played what football there was. They took the lead in the fiftieth minute when Williams, taking advantage of a static Villa defence, played the ball back in following a clearance and Rees volleyed in a rewarding goal against his former club. Seven minutes later the contest was over, Handysides steering a shot around a defender and past the possible unsighted Spink.

ASTON VILLA: N Spink; K Gage, B Gallacher, N Cooper, S Sims, M Keown, P Birch, W Aspinall, S Stainrod (sub: A Daley), D Hunt (sub: S Hunt,) M Walters.
BIRMINGHAM CITY: A Godden; B Rob- erts, J Dicks, T Williams, V Overson, I Handysides, D Bremner, A kennedy, S Whitton, A Rees, S Wigley.

I was at the game and remember us being rubbish but I don't remember it being particularly nasty on or off the pitch compared to some other games against them. Looking at the team sheets I recognise all the other names but have no recollection of T Williams for Small Heath.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Tommy Williams

[LeeB]

A couple of memories from this game - Blues fans piling onto the pitch from the Witton Lane and me realising what an absolute twat Vince Overson was (is?)


Football: Villa kindergarten antics leave Taylor despondent (673)
By CLIVE WHITE
24 August 1987
The Times
Aston Villa ......0 Birmingham City ..2


Graham Taylor looked like a man who had just discovered he was climbing Mount Everest instead of Ben Nevis. The full implication of the task confronting him came awesomely into view on Saturday when he saw his new Aston Villa team willingly hurl themselves off the mountain like lemmings.
It was one of the most blatant pieces of self-destruction that I have seen on a sporting field. But there was nothing courageous about it. On the contrary it was, as Taylor said, 'schoolgirl stuff.' Having lost their way and their grip they proceeded to lose their heads during a period of total abdication of responsibility. Birmingham City, holding a two-goal lead, could afford their part in the lunacy as the names of five players went into the referee's black book during the final 25 minutes and the free kick count scored to 52.
That three Birmingham players, Dicks, Whitton and Overson, should be booked as against two from Villa, Coopr and Walters, and that the free kicks should be similarly in their 'favour', 29 as against 23, does not absolve Villa from their part in this distasteful match.
Many people considered that Taylor was crazy when last May he chose to leave the security of Watford for the instability of Villa. Now Taylor must be wondering if they were right. He will have known that the job involved turning boys into men, but he could never have dreamt that he would have to change their nappies too.
From the beginning there was no doubting that this was Villa Park Kindergarten as Aspinall, annoyed at his inability to grow up quickly enough to outjump an opponent, decided the mature answer was to kick the other player. I cannot believe he was taught such manners at Everton. 'Too many players here play five- a-sides, eat fish and chips and think they can play like Liverpool,' Taylor said.
While Taylor may be able to knock some sense into the young heads he may find the older ones less receptive It was disappointing to see someone as experienced and as gifted as Cooper make an impression on opponents with his elbows rather than his football. An undignified performance ended fittingly with a booking for an attempted pinfall on Godden, the Birmingham goalkeeper.
The respectable behaviour of Vicarage Road must have seemed a long way away to Sims, whom Taylor brought with him form Watford. 'I'm used to getting on with the game, not becoming involved in that nonsense. If some of them don't improve their discipline they'll be out,' Sims said.
Maturity, though, may not be enough. Taylor says: 'We've got players here who haven't the responsibility to get a game back together - and I doubt if they have the ability. Too many of our players want to talk, to argue at a petty level. If we had as many people around the areas where loose balls were dropping as we had when there was a scuffle we'd have done better. This was our first real test and it was marked nil.'
Submerged within the running feud was a contest that lasted 15 minutes in Taylor's view. During that time Birmingham, who had not impressed much either, played what football there was. They took the lead in the fiftieth minute when Williams, taking advantage of a static Villa defence, played the ball back in following a clearance and Rees volleyed in a rewarding goal against his former club. Seven minutes later the contest was over, Handysides steering a shot around a defender and past the possible unsighted Spink.

ASTON VILLA: N Spink; K Gage, B Gallacher, N Cooper, S Sims, M Keown, P Birch, W Aspinall, S Stainrod (sub: A Daley), D Hunt (sub: S Hunt,) M Walters.
BIRMINGHAM CITY: A Godden; B Rob- erts, J Dicks, T Williams, V Overson, I Handysides, D Bremner, A kennedy, S Whitton, A Rees, S Wigley.

I read down to who got booked before realising it wasn't 03/03/03.

This was the first time I'd been to a match against them, it was decided (quite sensibly in hindsight) that I was too young to go to the return match that fell on my birthday.

[PeterWithe]

I was there and don't remember it being that nasty either.

[Des Little]

I was there. Pretty sure it rained? I recall seeing a Nose I knew from school bouncing down the pitch from the Witton Lane offering out the Holte End. Prick

[The Left Side]

The game at the sty had a much better result, the atmosphere was a little sketchy but I had to go in with the knuckledraggers so it was always going to be ugly.